Cardinal Health Foundation Supports New Initiatives At The Ohio Hospital Association To Spread Best Practices In Opioid Prescribing

Dublin, OH /PRNewswire/ - As part of its long-standing commitment to reduce opioid misuse and abuse, the Cardinal Health Foundation is pleased to announce a $530,000 grant to the Ohio Hospital Association (OHA) to identify and deploy best opioid prescribing practices for pain management among OHA member hospitals across the state.

This OHA initiative will engage hospitals in a first-of-its-kind statewide collaborative to gather and share benchmark data around opioid prescribing practices, based on physician specialty, patient diagnosis and other variables with the goal of producing more effective pain management and better patient outcomes, with fewer opioids prescribed.

"Cardinal Health and OHA care deeply about the devastation prescription drug misuse has caused and are committed to working toward a solution to the opioid epidemic," said Jessie Cannon, vice president of Community Relations at Cardinal Health. "Under the umbrella of Generation Rx and our Opioid Action Program, we are pleased to support OHA in its work to refine opioid prescribing in communities across the state."

"Ensuring prescribers can compare their prescribing habits with their peers is considered an important step in improving best practices," said Amy Andres, senior vice president of Quality and Data at OHA. "When we have established benchmark data, we'll work with hospitals to target opioid prescribing levels to better support patients with chronic pain."

In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control published its guidelines for opioid prescribing to improve the safety and efficacy of pain care and reduce risks of long-term opioid use. The guidelines recommend that clinicians use caution when prescribing opioids at any dosage, prescribe the lowest effective dosage, and monitor patients on opioids closely for individual benefits and risks.

Patients prescribed opioids in Ohio has decreased from 2.3 million in 2016 to 1.9 million in 2017 according to the latest report from the Ohio Automated RX Reporting System.

OHA President and CEO Mike Abrams said, "From the inception of this project, OHA and Cardinal Health agreed that our focus would be on programs and services designed to significantly impact the opioid epidemic in Ohio. I am confident that this partnership will strengthen the ability of our member hospitals, as well as physicians across Ohio, to combat opioid misuse and abuse."

To date, 62 Ohio hospitals have committed to participating in the OHA initiative to reduce opioids prescribed:

The Cardinal Health Foundation grant funding also supports OHA initiatives that encourage alternative pain therapies and the creation of an online source for treatment and training resources for providers and community organizations.

About Cardinal Health
Cardinal Health, Inc. is a global, integrated healthcare services and products company, providing customized solutions for hospitals, healthcare systems, pharmacies, ambulatory surgery centers, clinical laboratories and physician offices worldwide. The company provides clinically proven medical products, pharmaceuticals and cost-effective solutions that enhance supply chain efficiency from hospital to home. To help combat prescription drug abuse, the company and its education partners created Generation Rx, a national drug education and awareness program. Backed by nearly 100 years of experience, with approximately 50,000 employees in nearly 46 countries, Cardinal Health ranks #14 on the Fortune 500. For more information, visit cardinalhealth.com, follow @CardinalHealth on Twitter, @cardinalhealthwings on Facebook and connect on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/ company/cardinal-health.

About the Ohio Hospital Association
Established in 1915, OHA represents 237 hospitals and 13 health systems throughout Ohio that employ 255,000 Ohioans and contribute $29 billion to Ohio's economy along with contributing $5.3 billion in net community benefit. OHA is the nation's first state hospital association and is recognized nationally for its patient safety and health care quality initiatives and environmental sustainability programs. Guided by a mission to collaborate with member hospitals and health systems to ensure a healthy Ohio, the work of OHA centers on three strategic initiatives: advocacy, economic sustainability, and patient safety and quality. The association founded the OHA Institute for Health Innovation and OHA Solutions hospital staffing program and is a co-founder of the Ohio Health Information Partnership and the Ohio Patient Safety Institute. Learn more at ohiohospitals.org.